More Power
Mark 9:14-29
Introduction: Many get caught up in the desire for more money, more power, more influence, more prestige. Many who follow this pursuit profess to be dedicated Christians. What they fail to realize is that what they need and should desire most is more of the power of God in their lives. The Lyrics of one of today’s favorite praise songs are: More love, more power, more of you in my life." (©1999, Higher Praise, All rights reserved.) It is the heart cry of the need and desire for more power in the believer’s life. Without God’s power the church will have little if any impact on others. Why is it that some people don’t experience more power in their lives?
I. Most Believers are living Powerless Lives.
A. Mark 9:18 "And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples that they should cast it out, but they could not."
B. Many are anemic and weak, half-dead, often defeated, and without authority.
C. We see powerless Christians going through the motions of serving, claiming that they have a strong desire to have a closer and a deeper relationship with the Lord and serve Him, but are in reality half dead Christians.
D. Revelation 3:1 "To the messenger of the church in Sardis write; These things says the One having the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead."
E. The sad part is that many of these powerless Christians do not even realize their poverty.
F. Revelation 3:14-17 "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ’I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked"
G. Powerless Christians aren’t joyful Christians. Powerless Christians discredit the testimony of Christ and stagnate the growth of the church.
II. Power is available to all believers.
A. Mark 9:23 "Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes’."
B. Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
C. Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
D. We serve the same God who created the universe in seven days, who parted the Red Sea, who collapsed the walls of Jericho, who brought fire down on Mt. Carmel; the same Lord who fed five thousand with a but few loaves and fish, who raised Lazarus, who gave sight to the blind man, who raised from the dead after three days and nights in the tomb.
E. “Power accompanies salvation. If anyone is a child of God and shorn of power it is entirely the fault of himself, and never of God. Christ is the power of God, and if we have him in his fullness it is as natural for us to have power in the estimation of God as it is to breathe. Settle, then, first of all, the question as to whether he is yours. If so you have the accompaniment of power. Second, you shall receive power, the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and, since it can be proven that the Holy Ghost is in the world to make Christ real to every believer, it naturally follows that we may receive him and be filled with all the fullness’ of God. If, therefore, he has come, and we are still powerless, the fault is entirely our own. A young engineer was asked in examination the following question: "Suppose you had a steam pump constructed for a ship with everything in perfect order, and you should throw out the hose and no water would be drawn, what would you think might be the difficulty?" "I would think," said the student, "that there must be some defect in the pump." But," said the professor, "that is not admissible; for the supposition is that it is perfect." "Then, sir," said the student, "I should look over to see if the river had run dry." This is the position for us today. We have the promise of power, we have Christ, the Holy Ghost has come, and the reservoir is filled to overflowing. If we are without power it is because we have not appropriated what is our birthright privilege in Christ. ¬– J. Wilbur Chapan, "Present Day Parables."
F. The basic principle of deep sea diving is: "DON’T STAND ON YOUR OWN AIRHOSE!" Sadly, too many believers are standing on their own spiritual air hose by failing to live in the power of the Holy Spirit and as a result suffocate!
G. Corrie Ten Boom said that God is more grieved by powerless Christians than by powerful atheists! – source unknown
III. Power is available when we are properly connected.
A. In his book Spiritual Stamina, Stuart Briscoe tells the story of a man who bought a new computer. Bringing his new prize home, he carefully opened the box, gingerly took the machine out, studied its manual, and connected the wires. Eagerly he flipped on the power switch--but nothing happened. Puzzled, the man switched the computer off and rechecked all the connections. He rounded up a screwdriver and fastened the wires more securely. He read again the relevant portion of the manual. Satisfied that he’d followed directions, he flipped the computer on--and again nothing happened. As his anger rose, the man’s little girl walked into the room. "Hi, Daddy!" her cheery voice rang out. "What a pretty computer! Can I plug it in?" --Moody
B. Some have mistaken ideas about how to be connected and to receive power
1. Not by praying through – Just as salvation is wholly of grace and not obtained by praying through, holding on, holding out, baptism, membership, sacraments, or any other works of man, power is not obtained by any of these means.
2. Not through osmosis – you can’t ride on another’s coat tails.
3. Not by altruistic acts of false humility.
C. Moody was to have a campaign in England. An elderly pastor protested, "Why do we need this ’Mr. Moody’? He’s uneducated, inexperienced, etc. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?" A younger, wiser pastor rose and responded, "No, but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on Mr. Moody." – Source unknown
D. Power is available only when we…
1. Empty ourselves
• L. Moody said, "I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God’s law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled."
• The soul that empties itself of every obstacle and hindrance is the soul most open to receive the power of God.
• Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us"
• Isaiah 40:28-31 "Have you not known? Have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
2. Yield ourselves
• Ephesians 5:18 "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,"
• The Holy Spirit is the source of power for the Christian.
• To be filled with the Spirit is to be yielded to the Spirit. To be yield means to be relinquished and abandoned to God’s will. You limit the working of God in and through you by the degree of your yieldedness to the Spirit.
• Romans 6:13 "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."
3. Commit ourselves
• Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions. And the actions which speak louder than words. It is making the time when there is none. Coming through time after time, year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism.
• Today, Christianity seems to be less a matter of commitment and more a matter of convenience.
• Colossians 3:1 – 2 "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."
• To be committed to God 99% is 1% too short. God hasn’t called us to be partially committed to Him; He has called us to be fully committed to Him. God isn’t interested in something called our spiritual lives; He’s just interested in our lives. – Jason Hill
4. Feed ourselves
• Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
• 1 Peter 2:2-3: "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."
Disclaimer: Source material for this sermon has been gleaned from many different sources. I have attempted to acknowledge these sources whenever possible. Please feel free to use this message as God’s Holy Spirit directs your heart.
